Hypothetical inheritance and divorce?

theguzman

Having a brain storm recently influenced by some local events and none of us in our crazy whats app group could decide on the likely potential outcome to this; the discussion emerged out of reading of how several elderly couples have been killed so fast within days by covid and the inevitable succession crisis these untimely deaths are leaving in their wake.

Hypohetical story, Guy 1 got married, he himself has no assets and minimal savings (€5k). Lockdown arrived and his marriage got wrecked; wife gone and they living apart.

Guy 1 is from a substantial family, asset rich but cash savings are low after substantial farm investments and land acquisitions, under normal circumstances Guy 1 would be set to inherit this farm, savings, houses, livestock etc. We could throw a speculative grand total valuation of €2m for simple maths. The elderly parents would normally have be keen to hand over the property soon to avail of the fair deal if necessary; both must keep it to the end now.

The problem for Guy 1 is that both his parents are octogenarians with a host of health issues and there is every possibility that one or both could die before Guy 1 divorces and is finished with the marriage in a 2 years wait time before divorce and likely 1 year legal wrangle; call it 3 years to sign the papers.

Guy 1 has a younger brother Guy 2 who was the smart brains of the family, graduated and lives abroad, this guy wasn't likely to inherit anything (bar a site of a house and field) as he has a proffesional career and is doing well for himself; most likely everything will be left to Guy 1 (elder brother) the son who stayed home to run the family farm on the promise of inheriting it one day; wheras the younger brother never did a bit of work on the farm and left home early.

Now lets imagine there is no will made and both octogenarian parents die suddenly within weeks of each other. A contest now will defacto develop with solicitors writing to all interested parties including the estranged wife.

Guy 1 obviously wants to inherit the property and wealth but can't because his wife will take half of it in the future divorce, instead he is happy not to contest and for the younger brother to take control, however can Guy 1's estranged wife then claim 50% of his share or a 25% share of the grand total €2m in assets and savings. As an asset rich but cash poor family it would mean a €500k payoff for the ex wife in a divorce, neccesitating a likely sale of the farm or some massive borowing required to pay her off.

Whilst both parents are alive and well could they now make a last will and testament to Guy 2 the younger son abroad letting him get everything in the event of a sudden death of one or both parents. The younger brother would get everything but "protect" the family farm from the ex-wife's attempts to get her share since her husband Guy 1 would be totally disinherited. Presumably him and the younger brother could do a deal to buy back or rent back the land and farm post-divorce for €1 or whatever + stamp duty, a far lower financial hit for Guy 1 than a €500k payout to the ex-wife in a divorce.

Guy 1 is already very lucky in the fact that he himself has no property, title or anything to his name to begin with, but could a sudden death of the parents prior to a divorce derail this protection unless he was totally disinherited?

This is the sort of stuff you'd read about in local newspapers etc.

I'm not a legal expert but I think the ex-wife could claim 25% or half her husbands share should the parents die without a will letting everything to the younger brother cutting out the elder brother entirely put ultimately for his own protection. With both brothers on good terms they could agree a saleback or transfer on a future date.

cnocbui

It is my understanding that inheritances are not fair game for the other party in a separation if they are acquired prior to a relationship or after one has concluded.

Peregrinus

Timing is crucial here.

If the financial settlement is made when the parents are still alive, then the husband's expectation of inheriting are basically ignored. You can't order him to hand over a share in property that he doesn't own.

However, if the financial settlement is made after the parents have died, then what he has inherited, whether under a will on on intestacy, is part of his assets (even if it hasn't been formally transferred to him yet) and will be taken into account in the settlement.

For that reason the parents may make a will leaving the husband little or nothing, with some understanding that the rest of the family will "look after him" once the divorce settlement is done.

But, while the courts have a preference for financial settlements to be final, they can always be revisited. This doesn't happen often, but in the right circumstances it can. So if, say, a year after the financial settlement other family members transfer valuable assets to the husband, representing property that he might ordinarily have expected to inherit but didn't, there's nothing to stop the wife going back to court and seeking to have the settlement reopened. If there is too obvious an attempt to artificially reduce the husband's assets on a temporary basis in order to defeat the wife's claims, the court might agree to reopen the financial settlement.